A musical memorial for peace and humanity: Casals was so impressed by the power of the verses that he immediately began setting the poem to music. With this background in mind, it is easy to understand why Alavedra’s “Poema del Pessebre” goes far beyond a jubilant and joyful Christmas message.
Caught between artistic aspirations and social pressures: In the 1830s and 1840s, Fanny Hensel composed a large number of songs. The compositions bear witness to her musical maturity and stylistic diversity. However, these years were not only a time of artistic creativity, but also personal difficulties.
A Monument of Sacred Music: The work is dedicated to Anton Ritter Imhof von Geißlinghof, an important supporter of Bruckner’s in the Office of the Court Chamberlain. In a letter to the dedicatee, Bruckner emphasized that he had taken “the greatest trouble” in composing the mass. In the early biographies of Bruckner, reference is made to his spiritual inspirations in an anecdotal way.
A conference report on the Puccini Symposium on 16 January 2024 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of the well-known Stuttgart Puccini researcher Dieter Schickling: about Schickling’s spirit of research, the cooperation of Carus with the Edizione Nazionale and the Centro Studi as well as plans for new research and editions.
Amongst Rheinberger’s 14 mass settings, the Mass in E flat major op. 109 (Cantus Missae) composed in 1878 undoubtedly holds a special position. This mass must, in the opinion of Tristan Meister, count as one of the most important church music compositions of the Romantic period and is worthy of a place in the repertoire of every ambitious choir.
